Pokemon: A Tale of Two Regions
by Ladillie
Summary: Brendan is faced with several daunting challenges, due to two terrorist groups in Hoenn. In the midst of it all, he meets a certain brunette. How do Ash and Dawn also eventually cross paths with our Hoenn heroes? Which romances start to spark up? OC for some characters ... Rated T cuz there is no lemons, but things do happen. ;) P.S. - drop a review or PM me your feedback
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon**

* * *

"Just a bit longer, you're doing great Lapras" The blue, water-type pokemon glanced back and gave her trainer a quick grin, continuing to race across the seas at a very quick, and smooth rate.

The Trainer on the back of the pokemon held a determined expression on his face, he had his grey eyes locked on towards the empty, Southern Ocean of Hoenn as the water and waves blurred past him. He was leaning forward on the back of his loyal traveling companion in order to avoid losing his balance while zooming through the water. This particular Trainer was clad in a dark orange shirt that fit right against his torso, hugging his body like a second skin and accentuating his muscular build that was clearly noticeable, but didn't attract extra attention to him.

Below his shirt, he wore dark grey shorts that hung below his knees and was the same color as the single stripe on the orange shirt. White and bright blue sneakers were worn on the trainer's feet, they looked sporty and looked good for running. A simple backpack was hung around his body, the same blue color as the one in his shoes. The bag had a single strap that hung from his right shoulder and crossed across his chest down to his left hip and connected with the other side of the backpack. And finally, his belt had his six pokeballs clipped to it, they shined in the sunlight.

The X-Transceiver worn on his wrist vibrated and the screen on it lit up on his wrist, revealing a very young woman's pretty, tan face with dark blue eyes looking back at him. She wore two large, identical, pink flowers in her short black hair on the sides of her head.

"Alright Brendan, I know this mission was placed upon you so quickly but you were in Slateport City, making you the closest out of all of us to the threat in Dewford Town" she said through the X-Transceiver, flashing an encouraging smile to him.

"Yeah it's all good Phoebe, and I've been wanting to confront Team Aqua recently anyways, their control of the surrounding Southern Islands was leading to a lot of attacks on citizens on the outskirts of Dewford Town" Brendan replied with a grin.

The large town of Dewford was located on the central, largest island out of the Southern chain. Team Aqua has established themselves on the smaller, surrounding islands and have continuously been attacking the outskirts of Dewford in effort to capture the main island and last piece to the Southern Islands.

"One of our spies located in the Islands sent us word of an Admin landing there with reinforcements and more supplies" Phoebe started to explain as her smile quickly changed into a stern, worried expression. "Are you sure you're gonna be fine?"

"Phoebe, I have Brawly there at the Gym, he's got my back no matter what happens" Brendan was confident in his longtime friend's battling skills, but the odds weren't in their favor. "And Officer Jenny and the Police Station have been holding back the grunts for about a month now, so even with the reinforcements I'm sure we can handle the Admin and the rest" He said giving her a reassuring smile. She chuckled at the confidence of her colleague, and also friend, that she had gotten so close to during the past year Brendan had began working alongside her.

"Any details about which admin it was?" Brendan asked, wanting to know who he was up against.

"We aren't for sure, but most likely... it's Matt" Brendan nodded, knowing the Admin for his aggressive nature but not anything else. "What we could confirm was that they are going to be staging a full scale attack during the Dewford festival today at Brawly's gym.

 _Shit. During the festival? Everyone in one place. A building that could be surrounded and easily invaded through several locations._ Brendan grit his teeth. _Nobody is gonna be expecting it._

"Damn, the festival started already, I better get there quick" Brendan said checking the time on his X-Transceiver. "K thanks Feebs, I'll call back when I'm headed back to Ever Grande."

Brendan heard a voice calling for Phoebe through his X-Transceiver, which he recognized as the Champion's.

"Gotta go bud, good luck out there" She clicked off and the screen went blank. The only thing that could be heard now was his Lapras carrying him through the sea. Brendan looked up and saw the Islands coming into view on the horizon. He had a feeling this was gonna get ugly.

 _If Team Aqua takes Dewford... a whole island chain and Gym is under the control of a terrorist organization in Hoenn._ Brendan knew the situation was dire. He was ready to do anything before he let Brawly's Gym and town fall before his eyes.

* * *

"Thanks Lapras, you did great as always" Brendan thanked his loyal pokemon as they were reaching shore. Lapras cooed in response as her trainer hopped off, returned her to her pokeball, and took off in a flat sprint towards the Dewford Town Gym.

Brendan didn't pay much attention towards the decorations on the shops, and banners hung up in the town's Shopping Square. He ran straight through the square, having his mind set on one thing and one thing only.

As he approached the Gym, he noticed a lone police officer standing at the entrance of the building.

"YOU! Get Officer Jenny and tell her to get her officers outside." The officer stood there speechless, unable to comprehend just who was standing before him.

"NOW" Brendan yelled at the top of his lungs. This got the officer moving, he ran to the other side of the building, talking with a sense of panic into his walkie talkie which he wore on his shoulder.

 _I have to get Brawly_ , Brendan darted into the gym at full speed.

* * *

Inside the gym, the whole town occupied the stands who were there watching Brawly put on his annual show during the Dewford Festival. The kids sat next to their parents, either holding popcorn or cotton candy, as they watched their Gym Leader entertain them. The adults all had smiles on their faces, a usual sight during the holiday in the town.

In the center of the gym on the battlefield, stood Brawly Jackson. He had a fit build and spiky, sky blue hair, his signature look.

"And on to our next performance, we have my pokemon dancing to the tune of..." He was cut off as Brendan grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around, not caring the confused and stunned faces of the audience. Brawly had a stunned expression on his face.

"B-Brendan?!" He stammered, not knowing what in hell his friend was doing here in the middle of his show.

"Brawly we're gonna be att..." Brendan couldn't finish as a loud boom cut him off, it sounded fairly close to the building. The crowd began to stir and start murmuring very nervously.

"Everyone is going to stay in the Gym" Brawly turned around and addressed all of the townsfolk in attendance, "Nobody and i mean NOBODY is going to leave until I come back" Brawly didn't want a frenzy in the middle of whatever in the hell is going on. The crowd didn't start moving, but nervous whispers were scattering around.

Brawly then looked extremely worriedly at Brendan and followed him in running back outside. As they were running, Brendan shouted back at him to briefly fill him in. Brawly caught only parts of what he was being told, "Team Aqua", "Full scale attack", "Admin leading forces." Brawly's eyes widened and he grabbed Machamp's pokeball in his hand while still running, ready for whatever he was about to face.

As they got outside, they saw a scene that was seconds away from unfolding. Team Aqua had definitely brought reinforcements alright, all of the grunts outnumbered the officers about two to one. On top of that, Matt was in the front with his Cloyster and Muk, which were stood battle ready before the large admin. Matt had no shirt on, his bulging muscles making his 6'6" figure even more intimidating.

All the officers stood in a ring around the gym protectively with their Growlithes out and growling at the Team Aqua force surrounding the building and facing the Dewford Police Force. The Team Aqua members all wore the same blue outfit as well as a blue bandanna tied around their head. They all had a variety of Carvanha, Grimer, and Poochyena at their disposal.

Matt's gaze drifted to Brendan, who stood next to Brawly and the officers.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here" Brendan glared back at him as he continued to talk. "They've sent an Elite Four member for us to destroy and capture as our trophy... IF we allow you to live when this place is ours" Brendan responded by throwing two pokeballs in the air. Out came an Empoleon and a Blastoise, who both landed and shot daggers at the massive number of enemies around them.

"Brawly, you and Jenny cover the western side, I'll take the East" Brendan said as he squared his shoulders towards Matt.

It all started in the splittest second, fire and water being fired back and forth, engulfing the field with explosions. Brendan didn't waste anytime.

"Blastoise, Skull Bash let's go" Blastoise leaped, being engulfing in a white light as it sailed head first towards the shell-armored pokemon.

"Withdraw, Cloyster", it obeyed by retreating into its shell. The attack from Blastoise knocked its opponent back, but Cloyster came back out showing no signs of damage taken.

"Muk use Sludge Bomb, on the other one" Matt ordered, indicating to Empoleon with his finger. Muk began to fire the attack on the penguin pokemon.

"Blastoise, Water Pulse" The water orb exploded on the way down the battle field, sending a wave of water towards Muk. Sludge Bomb was released and the two attacks collided, creating an explosion, among the many other explosions going on around them between Officers and Team Aqua grunts. Empoleon looked back at Brendan questioningly, wondering why he wasn't chosen to attack.

"Empoleon go help the officers around us," Brendan motioned around them, as the grunts looked like they were starting to easily take the upper hand in the altercation with the Police Officers and their Growlithes, who all looked like they were taking a beating. Empoleon gave his trainer a curt nod and leaped through the air towards the surrounding Team Aqua members. Empoleon's armor-like wings began to glow while he was high in the air. "Emmmmm-POL" He brought his Steel Wing attack down on a Grimer, and immediately took off towards another Growlithe being outnumbered. As Empoleon left, the Grimer was fainted, where there was a small hole where the pokemon lied on the ground.

"Two on one, eh?" Matt smirked "Are you sure you're willing to gamble with ME? Cloyster use Aurora Beam!" The beam raced towards Brendan and his pokemon.

"Blastoise, dodge now!" The large water type sidestepped it, "Brick Break on Muk" Blastoise took off towards Muk with his hand glowing orange. The attack landed and sent Muk flying backwards. Following his attack, Blastoise was hit in the back by a Mud Bomb attack from a near Grimer.

"Cloyster, Icicle Beam" Matt yelled, Blastoise was in close range and vulnerable to his exposed side.

"Again, Brick Break!" Both attacks collided and the pokemon began to push forwards with their attacks, battling for dominance. Muk got up, and Matt was ready.

"Muk, use Gunk Shot full power" Matt yelled with a wide smile on his face. Muk fired the powerful poison type attack.

"Blastoise, get out of there!" Brendan cried out to his partner. Blastoise drove his Brick Break through the Ice Beam, connecting with Cloyster. He then jumped high narrowly avoiding the Gunk Shot.

Brendan wanted to take out one of the two pokemon, so he could ge battle that he could capitalize on, and try to push the whole fight into the favor of the defending ring of trainers and police men.

"Hydro Cannon, Blastoise" In the air, Blastoise pointed his two long cannons on his shoulders down at Muk. "BLAST-" He fired the devastating attack, two large spheres of pure water energy that flew extremely quickly down at the sludge pokemon. Before anyone could react, Muk was engulfed in the biggest explosion on the battlefield yet, the smoke cleared showing Muk in a crater. Matt cursed under his breath as he returned Muk to its pokeball. Turning back to the field with his large fists clenched. Brendan could see the hatred in Matt's eyes.

"Cloyster use Icicle Crash, FULL POWER" Matt roared with anger. Long, piercing icicles began to rain down onto Blastoise. He cried out in pain, as they hit him all over his body.

"Use Skull Bash" The experienced Blastoise was surrounded in a white light and sped head first towards Cloyster. The attack nailed Cloyster creating another explosion. Blastoise leaped out of the smoke and landed back in front of his trainer, panting from the fierce battling. Matt grit his teeth as his pokemon struggled to get up off the ground.

"Nice move Blastoise" Brendan said, smiling at his partner. Blastoise looked back and gave him his signature grin, though he looked tired. Brendan glanced over and saw Empoleon using Protect in front of a few officers and their pokemon. Surrounding them all in his green force field. The incoming attacks of a group of Carvanhas were bouncing off. He looked back to his own battle. Large explosions could be heard from the Western side of the gym. Brawly and Officer Jenny came to Brendan's mind, _I hope they're doing ok out there._

"Blastoise finish this with Brick Break" Matt called out to use Ice Beam, but the badly injured Cloyster could barely get up after the Skull Bash, let alone fight off a super effective attack. The move landed and Cloyster flew back towards its trainer, fainted. Matt looked down and returned it. A different expression crossed over his face, he looked up with an evil grin and chucked an Ultra Ball into the air and Brendan became cautious right away.

Out came a pokemon that caught Brendan COMPLETELY off guard. It stood there, staring at Blastoise dead in the eye and roaring. "Aboma-SNOW" The ice type pokemon looked battle ready and was eager to get a piece of Blastoise. _What the fuck?! How did Team Aqua get an Abomasnow in Hoenn,_ Brendan thought bewildered at the sight of a powerful pokemon who was native to Sinnoh, owned by a Hoenn terrorist group. _And that Abomasnow looks a lot bigger than ANY of the ones I've seen whilst staying in Sinnoh._

"You didn't see that one coming did you?" Matt said, looking proud of the beast standing before him. "Abomasnow, use Blizzard!" A small cloud appeared above them, and icy winds were sent towards Blastoise at high speeds. The winds hit Brendan and his pokemon, Blastoise was on his knee taking major damage while Brendan put his arms up and tried not to get blown over by the subzero attack.

When the Blizzard was over, Abomasnow came forward with his fist surrounded by an icy blue energy that struck Blastoise right in the chin. Blastoise was knocked over by the brute force of the attacks, but slowly managed to get up. Brendan looked on in worry of his pokemon.

"Wood Hammer, full power" Matt was screaming at the top of his lungs, looking on with a satisfied smile on his face. Abomasnow's arm glowed erupted into a light green aura as it powered up the powerful grass type move. It lunged towards Blastoise, arm raised with the super effective move ready to come down.

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon with everything you've got left!" Brendan was yelling as loud as he could. Blastoise was badly hurt, but persevered through the pain not wanting to let his trainer down. He raised his cannon at the incoming beast and charged up the powerful water type attack.

"ABOMAAA"

"BLASTT"

The explosion was so strong, the ground shook a bit. Brendan was thrown off his feet and landed 10 feet backwards. He pushed himself off the ground, and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. His leg had also started bleeding through his shorts. He cursed and got up, peering through the smoke that had enveloped a large part of the battle field. Surrounding grunts and officers looked towards the explosion, stopping their battle for a few seconds before continuing. As the smoke cleared, Brendan saw Abomasnow standing back in front of its trainer. It looked like it took some serious damage from the Hydro Cannon, but remained ready for more fighting. Blastoise on the other hand, was completely out cold, its body looking extremely hurt laying there on the floor.

 _I'll get you looked at as soon as we get home, old friend._ Brendan thought as he returned Blastoise to its pokeball. Matt stood across the battlefield chuckling, his huge arms crossed over his wide, muscular chest. "Looks like it's finally time I get to take a prisoner from the League" Before Brendan could say anything, Empoleon landed in front of him protectively, with his wings held out at his sides. Empoleon glared at the fellow Sinnoh native that stood before him. A grin appeared on Brendan's face as he looked at his pokemon standing in front of him. Empoleon looked like it took some nasty shots while fighting among the officers, but still in fine shape.

Brendan glanced around and noticed many of the grunts were defeated, and the officers were finally gaining the upper hand. Brendan smiled, _Empoleon always was one who was great at protecting others._

Matt's expression grew furious once more, having forgotten about Brendan's second pokemon who was busy fighting and defending among the surrounding battlers since the start of the fight. "Abomasnow, Wood hammer let's go" The Frost Tree pokemon lunged forward, it's glowing arm raised above it's head.

"Empoleon, dodge and use Bubblebeam" Empoleon jumped as Abomasnow's arm came crashing down into the dirt where it was previously standing. Bubbles, that glowed the color of the sky, shot out of the penguin pokemon's mouth and connected with Matt's beast at close range.

"Follow up with Steel Wing" Empoleon's wings glowed silver as it spun and brought them into the side of Abomasnow's head, who cried out in pain and then landed into the dirt with a loud _thud_. Brendan was taking advantage of the Wood Hammer missing, because Abomasnow was exposed and in close range. Matt seemed to notice his assault on the gym was starting to take a turn, he looked around and saw that now the police men were outnumbering the Team Aqua members. Most of the grunts were defeated or knocked out.

"Abomasnow, Ice Punch NOW" Matt was beyond enraged at this point. Abomasnow got up, swinging his fist towards Empoleon and connecting. Empoleon fell backwards, not expecting the power that was behind the punch. There was small pieces of ice on Empoleon's chest, where he got hit.

"Abomasnow, use Wood Hammer again FULL POWER" Abomasnow charged its arm once more and jumped up.

"Empoleon, Protect" Abomasnow's attack collided with the green force field, threatening to break through. It didn't. Empoleon defended the attack, then fired a Hydro Pump at its trainer's command which nailed the Ice type, sending him flying backwards. Abomasnow fell at its trainer's feet, passed out. Matt was in disbelief, he returned his pokemon and stared down Brendan.

Nearby, a Carvanha's Aqua Jet collided with a Growlithe's Flame charge very close to Matt and Brendan, sending smoke and steam towards them. Brendan coughed and tried to wave away the smoke. When it cleared, Matt had disappeared, he was nowhere to be seen. Brendan quickly began looking around for any signs of the Team Aqua Admin.

 _Dammit_ _. After seeing the attack on the gym was lost, he must be fleeing the Island chain. Phoebe was telling me on the way here that they pooled together all resources they had on the Southern Islands for this. But we still don't know where their main base is, or even what else they have in store. That Abomasnow was really suspicious, I'll tell the rest when I get back._

Empoleon looked at his trainer lost in his own thoughts. Brendan saw his faithful pokemon and grinned at him. Empoleon looked terrible to say the least, cuts and bruises all over him. Just then, Brendan turned around hearing a grunt start screaming in panic and fear.

"I SURRENDER, I SURRENDER" This man was the lone Team Aqua member standing on the western side of the gym. He was surrounded by 4 officers, their Growlithes all growling at him. One of the officers walked to him handcuffing him and ordering him to return his Poochyena to its pokeball. Looking around now, Brendan saw all the Team Aqua members were either passed out on the ground, or in handcuffs. There were a lot of knocked out officers as well, but the remaining ones were going around and cuffing the grunts laying on the ground, or the ones who surrendered after having lost in battle.

Brendan looked at Empoleon with a smirk, "That was too easy. We babied em, right?" Empoleon grinned and limped over to its trainer. Brendan put an arm around the large penguin's shoulders as they both limped towards the East side, which was now quiet too.

* * *

Brendan sat on the ground with his pokemon on the other side of the gym, where Brawly and his Machamp were limping over to them in a similar fashion. Brawly's shirt was torn and his light blue hair was sticking out in every direction. His leg had a gash in it on the calf which was causing him to limp, and his Machamp looked similar to Empoleon. The police men were doing the same thing here as on the Western side, handcuffing all the grunts. Officer Jenny and her beaten up Arcanine were overseeing the process.

As Brendan's longtime friends reached them Brawly and Machamp held out a hand to him and Empoleon, which they gladly took and pulled themselves up. Brawly looked at Brendan and grinned.

"Let's go inside, the townsfolk are probably scared to death right about now." Brawly said as he chuckled, "They know it had to have been Team Aqua."

Brendan's eyes widened, having forgotten all about the people who were still in the building. They both went inside with their respective pokemon at their sides, all four limping slowly, but with smiles on their faces nonetheless.

Brawly kicked the doors which open into the battlefield. As the trainers and pokemon entered the large room, the townsfolk that occupied the stands all gasped with stunned looks, staring at the poor condition of the four that just entered. Brawly stood in the middle of the battlefield, with Brendan and the two powerful pokemon right behind him. He looked around at the crowd, who still gaped at their Gym Leader with dead silence, until finally he spoke.

"The long battle is over" Brawly smirked. "We have WON" The crowd was deadly silent, but shortly burst into cheers and cries of joy. They all began hugging one another with nothing but joy filling the whole room.

Brawly turned around to Brendan, "these poor people have endured the attacks of the grunts for a long month now, they finally have been rid of Team Aqua from their lives." He said, looking around at the people of his town before looking back to Brendan, "Now, let's go get cleaned up and something to EAT!"

"I can't say no to that!" Brendan gave him a thumbs up as they left the Gym. The sun was setting now, and the sky was now a mixture of warm colors.

* * *

"Oh man this tastes SO good" Brendan was rapidly chomping down on his pasta at a popular restaurant in the Shopping Square. Brawly sat across from him slowly eating a big piece of lasagna.

"Slow DOWN you dumbass" Brawly pointed at him with his fork, "you're gonna CHOKE, and I'm not gonna save you this time."

"Yes... you...will" Brendan managed to get out in between massive bites of pasta. Brawly laughed and nodded in agreement before going back to eating.

Both trainers dropped off their pokemon to spend the night at the Pokemon Center. They all fought with every bit of strength that they had till the end, they deserved a long rest.

"Ohhh man" Brendan exclaimed loudly as he pushed the empty plate away from him, "I'm stuffed." Brawly chuckled at his friend whilst finishing his meal. The waitress came over to the two, "Here's the bill Brawly" She said with a warm smile.

"Thanks Christie" the Gym Leader took the bill and set it on the table. He looked back at the blonde waitress and smirked, "Well, don't you look cute today." Christie blushed furiously, trying to hide her small grin while walking away. Brendan waited till she was gone and gave Brawly the goofiest smile.

"Damn, have you always been placin' moves on that cutie like that?" Brawly smiled back and put his hand behind his head while leaning back in his seat.

"Well you see, I'm kinda a natural so things just kinda work out for me" the blue haired man replied. "We're going out tomorrow, and I'm taking her home right after to give her the _treatment"_

"Brawly, shut the hell up" Brendan replied laughing, "You want her so bad"

"Do you blame me, Brendan?! Look at that those pancakes back there!" Brendan began laughing harder now, banging his fist on the table while doing so.

"You're never gonna change are you?" Brendan said, pulling out his wallet to pay the bill.

"Hey, hey. I got this bro" Brawly started to mirror Brendan's actions. When Brendan began to place some money down on the bill, Brawly leaned across the table and smacked upside the head.

"OW, what are you doin?" the grey-eyed trainer asked with his hand rubbing his head. Brawly grabbed the bill, and put the money there for the two of them. "Hey, you're the one visiting" Brawly said "It's my treat." Brendan looked at him unsure of Brawly paying for him. Brawly rolled his eyes, "Next time we go out, just take me someplace nice. You being in the Elite Four for about a year now, shouldn't you have some discounts at those fancy ass restaurants you guys always go to."

The Elite Four member chuckled, "Sure pal, anywhere you want" Brendan thanked his pal, clapping him on the back as they got up and started to walk out. Brawly winked at Christie as they walked out, which resulted in her blushing again. The two walked back to Brawly's place, a small home but a very nice one which was located in a residential area not far from his Gym. Brendan walked into the guest room and got ready for a well deserved sleep. He was out soon as he hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Readers, I know I don't update very often but I am working on other stories right now as well.**

 **Leave a Favorite, Follow, or Review on anything you like or don't like.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

 ** _Hoenn Region - Ever Grande City - Pokemon League_**

 _Wow, I never really do get used to seeing this. The stained glass windows, the smooth stone steps leading to the doors... I still remember the day that I climbed those steps as the victor of the Hoenn League Tournament._

Brendan was arriving back at home in Ever Grande City after his long travel from Dewford Town across the ocean. His home was a certain palace located on the Eastern Islands of Hoenn. Brendan was riding in on his Lapras, looking at the Pokemon League Headquarters that stood tall right on the coast of the largest island in the Eastern Island Chain.

"Thanks Lapras, I know that was a really long ride, now rest up. I promise I won't be needing you to do travel that far for a while."

He turned around and proceeded to climb the steps up, admiring the enormous pokeball logo etched into the stone above the large, oak double doors. After Brendan was halfway up the steps, his leg began to hurt again where he got injured during yesterday's battle. He grimaced and looked down at his leg. His grimace turned into a grin, remembering how he was patched up in Dewford yesterday morning before he left.

 _Flashback_

 _"OW! Brawly stop!"_

 _"JUST KEEP STILL and stop crying"_

 _Brendan and Brawly got up early in the morning the day after the battle to go to the Pokemon Center, since Brendan insisted that he had to leave early. Nurse Joy was looking at any of the remaining wounds on the two trainers from yesterday, after they picked up their pokemon. Nurse Joy began treating Brendan's shoulder, but while that was happening Brawly took it upon himself, Arceus knows why, to attempt and bandage Brendan's leg._

 _"You're doing it all WRONG you idiot" Brendan and Brawly began yelling at each other over Brawly's medical skills._

 _"Brendan you listen to me, do I look like I don't know what I'm doing?!" Brawly screamed still trying to wrap the bandage around his friend's leg. Nurse Joy sweat-dropped at the two arguing. Finally, she was able to convince Brawly to let her fix them both up herself._

 _Flashback End_

He viewed Brawly as a brother, they've gotten so close over the years but their jobs haven't given them time to hang out with each other like they used to. Brendan walked through the doors of the Pokemon League, entering an elegant garden decorated with hundreds of flowers, all kinds of them. Small pokemon played happily with each other in the many fountains that were scattered among the large garden. The sunlight reflecting off the fountains made the garden glow just a bit.

Walking along the many walkways that lead to another pair of doors, identical to the first, Brendan opened them. These doors lead to the actual building. The League may look like a very old fashioned palace from the outside, but the inside looked extremely modern. There was even a Pokemon Center built inside just for trainers of the League.

"Brendan! You're back home!" Phoebe exclaimed walking towards her friend with a wide smile on her face.

"Hey Feebs, what's going on?" Brendan and Phoebe became great friends, siblings even, during the short amount of time of Brendan becoming an Elite 4 member. Phoebe was in the Elite 4 before Brendan but they were both still a young age for Elite Four members, 20.

"I was about to get some lunch, so you're coming with me" She stated, grabbing Brendan and pulling him with her, causing Brendan to laugh.

"Whatchu been up to?" Brendan asked.

"I've been helping out Steven pretty much ALL day for the past week!" She said throwing her arms in the air. "Keeping tab on Team Aqua and Magma, and also going out to different cities to meet with the Gym Leaders."

"So how's that been?" Brendan asked as continued walking with Phoebe towards the kitchen.

"Hard! All he does is work, work, work" Phoebe whined.

"I mean, me and you are the only two fun ones in this whole palace so I'm not surprised." Brendan said with a smile.

"I know! Glacia and Drake are so boooring" Brendan chuckled at her as the two entered the kitchen in search of something to eat. They walked to the buffet and grabbed a plate. The chef smiled at them and began to serve the two whatever they pointed at. There were a few trainers who worked for the League sitting at a table talking about something heatedly. Brendan and Phoebe sat at the furthest table from theirs and began to eat their food.

"Oh yeah, we have a meeting this evening at six."

"What about?" Brendan asked.

"Dunno, probably just updates for Steven."

The two said nothing else as they quickly finished their food and left. They began walking upstairs, towards the quarters and rooms of everyone in the building. The Elite 4 and Champion's rooms were located away from the staff's and the other trainers'. While walking, Brendan was telling Phoebe about the battle at Dewford.

"Wait, so you beat Matt but he escaped?" Phoebe asked.

Brendan looked at the floor, still upset about himself letting Matt escape.

"Damn, but no matter, you still defended the city and Gym" Phoebe said with a smile."And plus, at least they lost a lot of men since so many were arrested afterwards."

"That's true"

"Yeah, so don't beat yourself up about it!" Phoebe said, punching Brendan in his shoulder.

"Owww, I guess I'm still a little sore" Brendan said rubbing his shoulder.

"Oops! You okay?!" Phoebe squeaked, an apologetic look came over her face.

"I'm fine Feebs, it's better than before" Brendan said reassuringly, "Although Brawly trying to fix up my leg didn't really make _that_ any better" He said rubbing the back of his sheepishly.

Phoebe giggled, knowing the nature of the Gym Leader. "Well, go take a nap and rest up before our meeting this evening" She said once they reached Brendan's room. "I'm gonna go train with our newest recruit"

Brendan waved goodbye and entered his room to change into something more comfortable for his nap. _What did Phoebe mean by a new recruit? Who could that be? Whatever, I guess I'll find out later today._ Brendan thought, plopping down on his bed and immediately falling asleep.

* * *

Brendan's eyes slowly opened and he soon sat up in his bed, stretching and yawning. He looked around his large room, and his eyes fell on the clock.

"Holy SHIT, I've been sleeping for _that_ long?! The meeting starts in a few minutes!" Brendan exclaimed to himself as he jumped out of his bed and threw his usual, white beanie on over his messy, brown hair. Brendan grabbed his belt with his pokeballs clipped to it off his desk as he took off out the door.

Rushing down the hall and the stairs, the silver eyed trainer dodged a few staff members who were either cleaning or carrying supplies. He finally reached two double wooden doors with _Conference Room A_ written on it in gold, cursive letters. Brendan opened the doors to reveal 5 people sitting in fancy chairs around a huge table. They all turned to look at who barged into the room. Steven sighed before continuing, "As I was saying..."

"Just in time" Phoebe chuckled as Brendan took his spot at his reserved chair, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Brendan looked around at the five people at the table as well. To the left sat Drake, the Elite 4 member was wearing a long, black coat that was unbuttoned. Drake was well beyond his prime, he had white hair but no wrinkles on his face, looking as if he was in his fifties. He wore a captain's hat atop his head, and a large, white mustache on his face fit perfectly with the stern look he always had. The sternness always visible on his face matched the seriousness of his Dragon type pokemon.

Brendan's eyes drifted to Glacia. She was only a few years older than Brendan and Phoebe, but was centuries more mature than them. She barely showed any emotion other than a small smile here and there. Her blonde hair flowed down her back in loose curls. She wore a long, purple dress that framed her figure perfectly. Lastly was her icy blue eyes that seemed to glow when she was angry... they scared Brendan to death. He shivered in his seat just imagining an angry Glacia.

He became a lot more comfortable when his eyes moved to Phoebe, she had her two signature flowers in her short, black hair. She wore her usual warm smile on her face. Then there was the one and only Steven Stone, the Champion of the Hoenn region. Steven was always business, he never did anything remotely close to fun. Although, being the strongest trainer in the region was a title he didn't get by messing around constantly.

Next to him, was someone that Brendan didn't recognize though. He looked at her and his breath hitched. The gorgeous brunette wore a black top with black leggings and black boots that went up to her knees. Light Brown hair flowed down her back in loose waves. She wore a stone cold expression on her face, absolutely emotionless.

 _Who is she? Why is she here in such a confidential meeting?_ Brendan thought. _I wonder if she's-_

Suddenly, the girl's ocean blue eyes met his grey ones. He stared into them, but quickly looked away. Brendan noticed the conversation at the table stopped and now all eyes were on him.

"What?" Brendan asked looking around. He heard Phoebe snickering.

Steven sighed and repeated himself, "Brendan, what I said was... could you please fill us in on your mission to Dewford Town?" Brendan nodded in understanding before filling them in. About everything he saw from getting there, to the battle, and the aftermath.

"That sounded like one hell of a fight" Drake stated, cracking his knuckles. "I wish I was there"

"We underestimated the numbers that they actually had." Steven said, as he looked at some information on his laptop in deep thought. Papers were sprawled across the conference table in front of Steven.

"They sent about a quarter of their forces and resources to Dewford, and since they have all been arrested we can now try and locate Magma since Aqua is suffering casualties" Steven started talking, not taking his eyes off the important files on his laptop.

Brendan's attention slipped away from the conversation. His gaze fell on the figure in the room who was a complete stranger to him, but apparently belonged in the most confidential room in Hoenn right now. Steven's voice could be heard droning on in the background, but Brendan didn't register any words being said. This girl looked about eighteen

Brendan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his name being said by the Champion.

"Wait what?" Brendan gave a confused look to Steven, who gave an irritated look in return.

"Brendan, will you pay attention for once? I said that your next mission is going to be to track down the multiple locations that we suspect Aqua's main base is located at"

"Yes sir"

"You will be departing tomorrow morning with your partner, Miss Maple here, at 6 am sharp." Brendan immediately put two and two together as he looked at the young lady sitting beside Steven. _Maple huh? I wonder why she's so quiet,_ Brendan wondered.

"Ok, you are all dismissed" Steven said while staying seated, Brendan guessed he was going to stay in the conference room to work a while longer. The rest got up and walked out of the conference room. _This is all Steven seems to do these days. Work. One day we should make him g-"_ Brendan's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Phoebe talking to his new partner, who he only knew by Maple. Brendan approached them and could see Phoebe talking very kindly but not getting much response in return, much to her disliking.

"Brendan, this is May. She asked to work with us in the fight against Team Magma and Aqua." While Phoebe talked Brendan looked to May, who was looking to the side not caring much about meeting the Elite Four. Her blue eyes finally landed on Brendan, lingered for a second until she opened her mouth to speak.

"May."

"I'm Brendan, I guess we're partners, huh?"

"Yes. I'll see you at six o'clock tomorrow, don't be late" With that May spun on her heel and walked away, towards the Guest Quarters of the huge Pokemon League Building. Brendan and Phoebe watched her disappear around the corner, and then looked at each other and shrugged.

"Feebs, was she that 'new recruit' you were saying that you wanted to train with earlier?"

"Yeah, and you can probably guess how much she opened up to me during then"

The two Elites said their goodbyes and headed to different areas of the League Building. While Phoebe went to train, Brendan made his way to the cafeteria for some dinner.

* * *

May walked towards her room in the Guest Quarters area, her boots the only sound heard as she walked up the stairs. Most of the government trainers were nowhere to be found, eating dinner probably. She walked down the hall until she reached her room, placed her thumb on the door's fingerprint scanner, and walked in as the door slid open.

May walked over to her bed, where she had a half unpacked large black backpack. She reached into it and pulled out a framed photo, gazing at the two faces that used to bring her so much joy...

 _Flashback_

 _ **Hoenn Region - Petalburg City - 5 years ago**_

 _"oh My GOD!" a younger brunette the age of 14 was jumping up and down_ _excitedly next to her two parents._

 _"May sweetie, keep your voice down. We're inside a jewelry store not some sort of concert" A tall, buff man who looked middle aged said to his beloved daughter._

 _"Leave her be Norman, you men don't understand a girl's love for jewelry" A beautiful middle aged woman said to her husband, clinging onto his arm as they both looked at their daughter squealing over her birthday gift._

 _"Caroline do you remember how excited you got over the engagement ring I gave you?" Norman asked, smiling down at his wife._

 _"Oh Norman, you're so rom-"_

 _"MOM! DAD! Don't get all lovey dovey in the store now" The parents sweatdropped and proceeded to head over to the cash register and pay for the gold necklace they were getting May. She came home from traveling Johto to celebrate her birthday with her family. Her brother, Max, was_ _supposed to arrive tonight from traveling Hoenn himself._

 _"I'll ring this right up for you, sir. I'll even give our city's gym leader a little discount." The cashier smiled warmly at Norman, who was currently getting antsy while looking at the price displaying on the screen at the moment. He handed over his credit card, the necklace was expensive, but if his little princess wanted the necklace in gold, that's what she would get._

 _They walked out of the store, May smiling ever so brightly as she held the bag with her gift inside. They walked for only a minute until a loud sound of glass smashing came from behind them. The trio turned around to see a group of grunts clad in red hoodies were all commanding a pack of Houndooms to break into the jewelry shop that they were just in._

 _Norman and May wasted no time and began sprinting back towards the shop, poke balls in hand. Caroline ran frantically behind them, worrying what danger her husband and daughter were running into. Getting there, they saw there was a leader to the group of grunts, he currently was talking to the cashier and shop owner. Both who were pinned to the wall by the grunts, the Houndooms baring their teeth and ready to attack at the opportunity._

 _"I've heard that you have Key Stones somewhere in the vaults here, tell me where." The Leader spoke in a calm yet menacing voice, his hood covered his face. He wore a large ring on his left hand made of ruby, May noticed a small, colorful gem with a strange symbol was embedded into the the ring at the top. She'd never seen anything like this in all of her travels, but didn't pay much mind to it._

 _"STAND DOWN!" Norman bellowed, "Put these innocent citizens down or prepare to engage in battle" The Gym Leader's eyes flicked over to the large man and teenage girl. He simply grinned and threw a_ _poke ball, releasing a Crobat. The Houndooms all turned towards the duo, growling. At the Leader's orders, the rest of the grunts scurried into the shop's basement in search of these so called 'Key Stones.'_

 _"Blaziken!" May's partner appeared in front of her, ready to do what it takes to defend its trainer._

 _"Slaking!" The enormous ape grunted and beat its chest. The two sides staring each other down in the middle of the beaten up store._ _The mysterious Leader said one word to break the silence._

 _"Go." All chaos broke out, a fierce battle taking place while the people outside the shop were frantically running away for their own safety. May and Norman were severely outnumbered, but were fighting with all they have. It wasn't enough. Fire was being spewed all over from powerful attacks, the trainers and the leader jumping out of the way of stray attacks coming towards them. At this point, the police surrounded the shop waiting for the criminals to exit. They didn't dare get in the crossfire inside the shop, Norman made it clear in the past for them not to get in his way in these situations. May's Pokemon went down one after the other, as did Norman's until the two had none left. The whole pack of about a dozen Houndooms were all knocked out, but the Leader's Crobat still flew in place, injured but still conscious._

 _"How is he battling at such a high level? Who is this man?" May and Norman's thoughts were racing. The Leader looked up a bit, under his hood all you could see was an evil grin._

 _"For a Gym Leader, you fought well Norman Maple. But I fear this is the end for you, the last Leader of Team Magma was too soft, I won't let the League get in the way of our mission this time." Norman took a step back, in shock._

 _"Magma? You guys have reassembled?... That's why you wanted the Key Stones." Norman's eyes landed on the Key Stone set in the ruby crystal ring of this man. His gaze then drifted to the five untouched poke balls on the strange man's belt._

 _"May, leave." The brunette looked at her father in shock, thinking he was crazy for wanting to be left alone in a fight like this._

 _"Dad, I'm staying here"_

 _"May come with me right now" May turned around to see her mother had entered the shop behind her. The store was partly on fire now, but May could still see her mother's pain stricken face through smoke._

 _"May, leave now this is going to get ugly and I have a bad feeling about this" Norman's voice sounded like he was begging for his daughter to escape. May started to panic at this point, fearing the worst of what the powerful trainer before them would do. The grunts came upstairs from the basement with a small silk pouch that they handed to their Leader. It fit in his palm. The man looked inside and nodded approvingly before pocketing it._

 _"Let us evacuate_ _immediately" The Leader said coldly to the grunts. Norman stepped up prepared to fight still, even if his Pokemon all fainted. The man glanced at the city's Gym Leader._

 _"Cross Poison" Before anyone could react, Crobat turned into a purple blur as its wings glowed purple and raced towards Norman. It cleanly sliced Norman on the side of his chest, and then looped around slicing into the back of Caroline in the blink of an eye._

 _"MOOOOM! DAAAAAD!" May's eyes widened in horror. She ran over to her parents' her bottom lip quivering with fear. She kneeled down beside them and looked into their eyes. They both smiled lovingly at their daughter, the faces of the married couple began to turn a light shade of purple as the poison attack's effects were in full swing._

 _"DONT LEAVE ME" May's tears were streaming down her face and she was holding her parents shirts in her hands, letting her tears fall. Norman and Caroline's eyes glossed over and May felt a sharp pain in her heart. She couldn't bear it anymore. When the police and paramedics came in after seeing the criminals escaped, they began running their procedures in the completely wrecked shop._

 _May ran. She_ _didn't know to where but she ran and kept on running. The sharp pain in her heart not leaving her. Never leaving her._

 _Flashback End_

May rubbed her finger over the faces of her two parents in the framed photo. A tear rolled down her cheek, but she wiped it away. May put the photo on her nightstand, and walked over to her window overlooking the ocean. The former coordinator spoke quietly to herself,

"Mom. Dad. I'm gonna avenge you. I'll do whatever it takes to make that Leader of Team Magma feel what I have been feeling for the last 5 years. I swear it."

* * *

 **Leave a Favorite, Follow, or Review on anything you liked or would like to see more of.**

 **For those wondering when Ash and Dawn will be entering the story, it's gonna be the next Chapter so sorry for the wait.**


End file.
